Education help... mudchicken, anyone?

[jchnhtfd]

The company I work for, in its benighted wisdom, has decided that they want me to reinstate my New Hampshire PE license -- which requires I take some courses (continuing education, and all that). Does AREMA offer continuing ed. courses for PEs? If so, what/where? How might I become a member (which would be nice after all these years!) which I presume would be necessary?

Any help appreciated...

Jamie H.

[Anonymous]

I think that a quick trip to the AREMA website would set you in the right direction.

Point to:

http://www.arema.org/

That should be a start.

LC

[ericsp]

I don't think they offer classes, however, they do sell study material.
http://www.ncees.org/

[Anonymous]

What's a PE?

[jeaton]

Macguy

Professional Engineer. Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, etc. types who pass some tests and maybe do some other things to prove they are better than average and can be relied upon to know what they are doing.

People who operate railroad locomotives are not offered this certification. It's not that they aren't good on the job, but some are notorious for off duty unprofessional behavior. Of course no one that we know. Heh,heh

Jay

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton

Macguy

Professional Engineer. Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, etc. types who pass some tests and maybe do some other things to prove they are better than average and can be relied upon to know what they are doing.

People who operate railroad locomotives are not offered this certification. It's not that they aren't good on the job, but some are notorious for off duty unprofessional behavior. Of course no one that we know. Heh,heh

Jay

Hey, I heard that...

LOL...

LC

[Anonymous]

If the Foo Sh - - er, Shoe Fits . . .

Old Timer

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by macguy

What's a PE?

PE stands for professional engineer, it is a license. Here are minimum qualifications to get a PE license in California, the rest of the states are probably similar.
1) Work as an unlicensed engineer for three years or complete three years of engineering course work at an accredited university.
2) Not have been convicted of any crimes regarding work as an engineer.
3) Take and pass the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (formerly the Engineer in Training exam).
4) Work under the supervision of a professional engineer for six years who is licensed in the area of engineering the person attempting to become licensed will get the license in.
5) Not have been convicted of any crimes regarding work as an engineer.
6) Take and pass the Professional Engineers exam for a certain area of engineering.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info, I've heard of all the different types of engineers before, but not the title "Professional Engineer"

[jchnhtfd]

for those curious... one other aspect of a Professional Engineer which got left out above... If I stamp something as approved (we get to have nifty stamps -- we can even get ones which emboss the paper!) and something goes wrong (I approve a bridge design, for instance, and the bridge falls down...)...

Guess who gets to pick up the tab? Uh huh... and you think malpractice insurance for a doctor is expensive? Try $100K per year, minimum, and it goes up from there depending on the volume of your practice...

Some states and Canada or the UK refer to us as 'Licensed Engineer' or 'Registered Engineer'. But it's the same thing.

[Overmod]

I have seen particular tracks in railroad track engineering continuing education -- there was a conference (sponsored IIRC by the University of Wisconsin) in Philadelphia on signals and track this month. I don't have time to find any links, but several schools have programs in railroad engineering (similar to what Purdue used to offer in locomotive tech)

There are organized programs in England, connected with Railtrack, but to my knowledge they don't take American students. Will see what more I can find when I have time.

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jchnhtfd

for those curious... one other aspect of a Professional Engineer which got left out above... If I stamp something as approved (we get to have nifty stamps -- we can even get ones which emboss the paper!) and something goes wrong (I approve a bridge design, for instance, and the bridge falls down...)...

Guess who gets to pick up the tab? Uh huh... and you think malpractice insurance for a doctor is expensive? Try $100K per year, minimum, and it goes up from there depending on the volume of your practice...

Some states and Canada or the UK refer to us as 'Licensed Engineer' or 'Registered Engineer'. But it's the same thing.

Also someone who is licensed as a professional engineer in one area (mechanical engineering for example) cannot approve plans for another area (electrical engineering for example). If an engineer does so the license could be revoked or suspended.

[jchnhtfd]

Thanks everyone -- I'll be following up on some of these, and if anyone has more info, post it!